


As Young As We Are

by thatonedudewiththename



Category: Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
Genre: Boys In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Road Trips, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 19:17:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21481477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonedudewiththename/pseuds/thatonedudewiththename
Summary: Raph was pissed off that Damian hadn't texted him since the mission, but when the kid shows up a year and a half later, he figured he was owed an explanation.
Relationships: Damian Wayne/Raphael (TMNT)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	As Young As We Are

**Author's Note:**

> angry boys are best boys, they are my baby sons

Almost a year and a half later since the events of Gotham, and Raph _still_ hadn't heard anything from Damian.

It wasn't like he was expecting to be talking on the phone every day, tee-heeing and talking about crushes, or whatever, but it would've been nice to at least have gotten a fucking text— how hard is it to send a quick "hey, I'm not dead" message? Like okay, they weren't inseparable best friends, but they'd gotten pretty close during the mission, and it'd been _Damian himself_ that'd suggested they swap numbers, so you'd think that would mean he wanted to be friends, right?  
Growling a bit, he punched the sand-filled dummy that he was using as a stress relief harder than he'd anticipated, popping the head right off and sending sand flying everywhere, the rest of the corpse falling over onto the ground. He sneered and kicked it, making it roll all the way over to Donnie's work desk, bumping into him where he sat in his swivel chair; he lifted his goggles and stared down at it, then up at Raph, raising an eyebrow as he said, tone not at all hiding his sarcasm, "Is there a reason why you had to end poor Francesco's life?"  
Raph rolled his shoulders, glaring at him as he roughly yanked the wrappings off his hands. "Not now, Donnie, I'm not in the fucking mood."  
Donnie rolled his eyes before lowering his goggles back over then, mumbling to himself, "Okay..."  
Leo and Master Splinter weren't here, or else he would've gotten his ass beat for swearing; and a good thing, too, 'cause that meant that he could leave this mess here and go blow off steam somewhere, since being home only seemed to be making his frustrations worse.  
As he hopped on his motorcycle and put on his helmet, he tried to think about just why Damian not reaching out to him was bothering him so much… He took out his shell cell while he waited for the elevator to take him up to surface level, unlocking the screen to see the picture they'd taken together in the Batcave after the mission, Damian smiling for the first time since they'd met and Raph doing bunny ears behind his head, the two of them all beat up and exhausted but too full of adrenaline over a job well done to care. He huffed a small laugh at it, but upon feeling his heart start to beat weird in his chest, he locked his phone again and put it away, hardening his expression just as the big, stained granite door slid open; he hit the ignition and pumped the accelerator, squealing his tires as he took off into the night, honing his mind to focus on the road and nothing else.

He pulled to a stop some time later further into the heart of the city, parking his bike in an alley near Central Park, the wide expanse of greenery lending him some level of anonymity that called to him, and, once he'd strapped his helmet to the seat, he headed towards it, shuffling along the pathway that winded throughout the area, making sure to avoid the lamps that trailed along it. There was a gazebo about fifteen minutes into the park that he decided to sit down in, his phone playing music at a low volume, the sound melding with the hustle and bustle of the city; he sighed heavily and habitually cracked his knuckles, resting back on the bench and closing his eyes, crossing one leg over the other as he began to relax.  
Someone was nearby.  
Purely on instinct, he pulled out one of his sais to deflect whatever weapon was coming at him, the clang of metal on metal almost echoing in the emptiness of the gazebo; he opened his eyes to find a small figure standing over him, their dark cloak and hood hiding their face and body, only one part of them being revealed— the arm holding the metal staff aimed at his head. "Y'know, it's considered pretty rude t' try 'n kill someone when they're meditatin'," He remarked, eyes trained on the figure, body unmoving.  
"And most people would be a little more cautious when they're out all alone at night, even if they're a ninja freak like you." The figure said, an almost smile in their voice.  
Wait a second.   
Raph pushed the staff away as he stood up, shoving his sai back into its holster as he exclaimed, eyes wide, _"Damian?"_  
"Took you long enough!" The figure threw their hood back, the loss of shadow revealing that it was indeed Robin, looking slightly older and a bit taller; his features were a bit more defined, and although he was wearing his mask it was clear that time had passed, however short. His previously four foot eight stature was now nearer to Raph's own five feet, if an inch or so off. He was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, fingerless gloves, his utility belt, black padded pants, boots, and his uniform cape— did he get a new outfit or something? "I tracked you on your phone and followed you here. I'm surprised you didn't notice 'til now." He told him, swinging his staff around until it retracted completely, the little cylinder being smacked back in place onto his belt.  
A bit of anger boiled up in Raph’s chest, making him snap, arms crossed, “So you could find time to come all the fuckin’ way out here by tracking me on my phone, but you couldn’t be fucked to send me a goddamn _text_ fer a whole fuckin’ year?”  
Damian’s expression immediately fell, brows furrowing and posture closing up. “There’s no need to get so worked up, asshole. You never sent me a text, either.”  
“Oh, I didn’t?” Raph took out his shell cell and unlocked it, pulling up his messages app and opening up the conversation between him and Damian, turning the screen towards him so he could see that he wasn’t lying: from the day of up until yesterday, there were over a hundred texts, all of them from him. Damian stared at it, then down at his own mobile, taking it out of its holster; Raph stared at him, putting his cell away as he waited for whatever bullshit excuse this jerk was gonna come up with.   
There was silence for a second as he messed around on his phone, but he eventually mumbled, “Think I gave you the wrong number…”  
Throwing his hands up, Raphael sneered, “Don’t change the fact that you coulda texted me first! You had my number!”  
“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Damian argued, shoving his finger in his chest. “Like Jesus Christ, I always intended to hang out, but things got crazy after you guys left. Don’t you watch the news?”   
“No, I’m not a million years old,” Raph snorted, and that actually got Damian to kind of smile, the corner of his mouth twitching up.  
“Yeah, well,” The short human ran a hand through his hair, the mousse or whatever that he’d used to style it keeping it in place; he punched Raph's arm lightly, looking at his face, but not making eye contact, or at least he was pretty sure he wasn’t, since his mask covered his eyes, too. “Get over it, I didn’t come here to argue with you.”  
Raph punched him in return, though it was more of a light push with his fist than anything-- it was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about whatever it was that’d happened, so he chose to ignore it for now. “Then what _didya_ come here for? Couldn’ta been just to see me ‘n my handsome face.”  
Placing his hands on his hips, Damian nodded, head falling slightly to the side. “That’s it, really. I told you, I had always intended on hanging out with you, and besides--” He shrugged, Raph sensing his gaze on him through his mask. “It’s my birthday today. I just turned 13.”  
Snorting a bit, Raphael’s posture mirrored the younger boy’s, a simper cracking his face. “Kind of a dwarf for 13, but I guess I can’t say nothin’, considering I’m 16 and only five foot.”  
“Hey!” Damian barked, his sudden defensiveness only making Raph laugh harder. “I’m average for my age! I actually grew _three inches_ this year, and I have hair, too!”  
“Hair? The fuck’s that gotta do with anything?” Both Raph’s tone and countenance were bemused, and at the question, Damian spluttered, hitting him again instead of answering, only harder this time.  
“I should fucking leave you here for making fun of me, jerk, it’s my birthday,”  
He made no motion to do so, however, causing the turtle to wave his hand, saying in apology, “Alright, I’m sorry, birthday boy. I won’t make fun’a yer diminutive stature anymore.”  
Damian frowned for a second, but then realisation came over him and he kicked him this time, right in the shin. “Asshole!”  
“Punk,”  
Clicking his tongue, Damian grumbled, turning away from him, “Where’s your bike? I want to go somewhere fun.”  
Stepping around him, Raph motioned for him to follow, thumb hooked in the band around his waist as he walked. “This way. You ever been on a motorcycle before?”  
“Duh. I own one.”  
Raph raised a brow, but figured, being a crime fighter, you kinda had to get places faster than just a grapple gun, so it only made sense. “Then why don’t you take yours? You can follow me.”  
“I don’t have mine, I took the subway.”  
“Jesus, what’dya do, sneak out?”  
Another shrug, Raph responding to it with a nod. “Yeah, me too. I was just out here t’ blow off some steam. I like t’ meditate somewhere that don’t smell like raw sewage.”  
Scoffing, Damian said, running a bit to keep pace, “You’d have to get out of New York for that.”  
“Pfft. No kiddin’.”  
They made it into the alley that housed Raph’s bike and got on, Raph giving up his helmet so that Damian could be safe, then started the engine, swiftly kicking up the stand and throttling, the bike revving loud before it took off; behind him, Robin was holding on tight, chin resting on the top of his shell and his shoulder, basically hugging him from behind-- he tried not to think too hard on it. “Where you wanna go?” He yelled over the engine noise, tuning his hearing so he could make out what Damian would say.  
“Let’s go to Maine,” Damian told him, his fingers on his plasteron tapping against it. “It’s only an eight hour drive, and I have money if you need gas.”  
Huh, well, Raph had never driven that far before, but he figured Damian could take over if need be, so, he shouted an okay back to him and made for the highway, Damian pulling up the directions on his phone.

+

Their first stop was at a gas station about an hour away, which, as they came to find out, didn't have the right kind of fuel for his bike. "Why the _fuck_ did Donnie make this thing run on goddamn E-85?" Raph growled as he stared down at their low fuel light, hands on his hips.  
"It's pretty easy and cheap to make, plus it has better fuel economy, so—" Damian began, but he was cut off by Raphael.  
"I get it, but where the hell're we gonna find a damn gas station that has it?"   
"Let me see."  
As Damian plotted their route to fill up, he went inside to buy a couple snacks— chips and sodas, really— having to make up a story about how they were going to a costume party and they were SFX artists, the usual BS he spewed whenever he needed to go out in public without a disguise. When he came back out, Damian had the bike ready, so he hopped on behind him and held on as they took off for their next destination.

Thankfully, it wasn't too far, Damian pulling in and up to the pump marked E-85; he took out his card and swiped it in the little slot once he'd checked it for a skimmer, which Raph had to have be explained to him the first time they'd done this. "Must be nice t' have yer own credit card," He commented as they filled up, taking the card when it was given to him.  
"Yeah, and even though Dad can see all my history, I have a system in place that lets me turn off the tracking whenever I wanna go stealth, so he won't know where I am."   
Before he could say anything in question, Damian said, "Go buy a couple gas cans for later, just in case we get stranded in a no E-85 town,"  
Raph did so, then came back, Damian filling them both before strapping them into the bag on the side of the bike; instead of leaving immediately, though, the two of them sat on the ground next to the pump, eating their chips and drinking their sodas. "Nice out," He said, staring up at the star-littered sky, the amount of them making his mouth fall slightly open. "Man, there's so many'a them..."  
"Yeah," Damian agreed, "It's kind of why I wanted to go to Maine. There'll be even more when we get there."  
They sat for only a bit longer, then threw away their garbage and headed back out on the road, Damian still driving; Raph watched the scenery as they drove, dark shapes taking form against the glowing night sky, the full moon casting an almost eerie, pale glow over the world. God, sometimes he forgot that the world was so much bigger than just his sewers or New York… It was nice, getting out and seeing the sights, especially because he was with someone he liked.   
Wait. That was kind of weird.  
Shaking his head slightly, he decided to stop thinking for now and faced forward, resting his head on Damian like the human had done before.

It was almost morning when they finally stopped; Raph had almost dozed off a couple times, but the fear of falling off the bike when Damian didn't know what a speed limit was always woke him right back up— he'd be fine, probably, but it still scared him.  
Once the bike was parked, Raph took a second to fill it with the last canister before they decided their next course of action. "Too bad, the sun's coming up," Damian said, removing his cape to instead drape it over the bike, setting the helmet on top. "I was hoping we'd make it here so we could see all the constellations."  
Raph patted his shoulder, seeing him kind of tense, but he figured it was just 'cause of the sudden movement. "It's okay, we can still see the sunrise, 'n you can kinda see some stars, still," He pointed to a bright one near the horizon on the water. "See, there's Mercury right dere."  
Damian laughed lightly, looking up at him, and for a second Raph wished that he wasn't wearing his mask. "I wouldn't peg you as the type to know about astronomy," He said, tone almost… surprised.  
Raph shrugged. "Donnie 'n Leo are nerds, an' I listen more than they think I do."  
Damian hummed in understanding, but said nothing else; they maintained eye contact for a second, and just as the younger was about to speak, Raph asked, slightly cocking his head, "Why don'tya take yer mask off? I know yer name, but I can't see your face?"  
Robin pushed away from him, a harsh, forced laugh jumping out of his mouth. "Yeah, whatever, let's just get to the lighthouse so we can watch the sun come up."  
Raphael didn't even get the chance to try and continue the conversation, as Damian was already closing in on the lighthouse they'd parked close to, the structure itself sitting atop a cliff, as most places in Maine were; he followed after him, climbing up the rope he'd shot up to the top, the grapple hook holding both of their weight easily as they went. They stopped at the very top, sitting on the ledge of the roof with their legs dangling off, Damian doing something on his phone; Raph eyed him, resting back on his hands and looking down at his screen to try and figure out what he was doing. “Talkin’ to your dad or somethin’?” He asked, at which Damian jerked his phone out of his view, glaring over his shoulder.  
“None of your business,” He said, making Raph hold up his hands in defense, momentarily sitting up straight.  
“Alright, alright, ya don’t gotta tell me.”  
After a few seconds, music began to play as Damian set down his phone, the realisation that he’d just been looking for a song to listen to only making that weird fluttering behind his plasteron stronger; he tried not to think about it, even when the song began to pick up, and it was one of his favourites, Damian fidgeting with his gloves and not looking at him telling him that he probably knew that. His chest started to hurt. “How’d you know I like this song?” He asked, dropping his head a bit to try and catch eye contact, but Damian wouldn’t face him.   
The pre-teen shrugged, the growing morning sun casting him in red and orange, making it appear as though he was blushing.  
Wait a second. _He was._  
Raph’s brows came together in confusion, his mouth slightly parting as he tried to think of anything to say, but… none of this made any sense. It was his birthday, he’d come to see him after over a year, he knew immediately where he wanted to drive to and how long it would take, knew his favourite song somehow, always tensed when he touched him, snuck out and turned off his tracking so they wouldn’t be disturbed while they were hanging out-- there was so much to decipher. Raph had never been particularly good at that kind of thing, understanding the motives of people that weren’t his enemies, and with Damian, how _different_ he was, it was made to be even harder. But he couldn’t just sit here and do nothing, he had to say something.  
Scooching a bit closer, he began, settling his hand next to his, “Damian, I know you’re not telling me everything,”  
Damian stiffened, his gaze on the sunrise drooping; he opened his mouth to speak, but Raph cut him off. “Lemme finish. First, I know ya came here to chill with me, but there’s gotta be more to it than that. You somehow figured out this was my favourite song and played it for me while we’re sitting and watching the sunrise, which you made sure we came to Maine to see. You planned all’a this, but what I wanna know is _why.”_  
No response for a long moment; Damian sat there, eyes on his hands in his lap, aura almost… defeated, which had not been Raphael’s intentions in the slightest. Touching his shoulder, he said quietly, “Hey, I didn’t meanta make you upset or nothin’, I just--”  
“You didn’t,” Damian murmured.  
To his surprise, Raph watched as Damian reached up and removed his mask, blinking his eyes a couple times before he lifted his face to the elder boy’s, and as they made eye contact, Damian’s shocking emerald irises cutting into him, Raph very suddenly forgot how to breathe.  
His black eyebrows were angular, giving him a permanent scowl; his once boyish features were now more mature, if by some, and his face was beginning to show the signs of a sharp jawline and straight nose; his beautiful green eyes were almond shaped and slightly angled-- he was half something, but it was unclear what. In any case, he was cute, _really_ cute, and as hard as he tried to fight it, Raph’s expression-- wide eyed, raised brows, frozen in place-- 100% gave that thought away. “What?” Damian asked, tone brash, and goddamn even his sneer was attractive.   
Half-laughing, Raph ripped his gaze away, right hand coming up to rub the back of his neck, a deep green flush spreading over the skin under his mask and on his cheeks. “Hah… n-nothin’. Uhm…” He couldn’t look at him, instead opting to watch the waves beat against the cliff face. “Your uh, I didn’t know you had green eyes. They’re… nice.”  
Damian turned up his mouth, furrowed brows knitting together even further. “What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“You know!” Raph snapped, which had the smaller boy barking a laugh.  
“Sure, I guess.”  
The sky was much brighter now, shades of pink, yellow, and orange, and almost all of the stars were gone; behind them, clouds were rolling in, but Raph judged they had a few hours until the rain actually hit them, so it wasn't too much to worry about for the moment. As he was watching the storm, Damian called, "Hey, Raph,"  
Raphael turned his head to face him, opening his mouth to respond, when—  
Pressure on his lips, and as his eyes shot open wide, he realised that he was staring, however cross-eyed, down at Damian, who was… kissing him. Softly, but regardless the contact was still there, and it was all he could do not to freak the fuck out; after a second, Damian pulled away, his face so unbearably hot and red, his eyes fluttering open, long lashes framing them as he stared up at him. "Uhm…" He said quietly, Raph seeing the panic growing in his countenance.  
"You..." Raph began, catching the human's wrist when he tried to pull away, shock giving way to a smile. "I guess I shoulda seen this comin', but I've always been a bit dense."  
He didn't let Damian say anything else before he was kissing him in return, not exactly sure of what he was doing, but then again, neither did Damian, so he figured there was nothing to worry about. He pressed into him, tilting his head slightly, causing Damian to make a little sound, like he was surprised— he didn't pull away, though. Raph's grip on his wrist slackened, his three fingers trailing up to intertwine with his own five, Damian squeezing some when he did so, and Raph could've sworn he felt him smile against him.  
Only a few seconds later they separated, still holding hands, and sure enough Damian was smiling, albeit not too obviously; Raph found that he was, as well, the two of them just kind of grinning like idiots with glistening stars in their eyes. "So I guess this means that you like me too, huh?" Damian said, at which Raphael laughed, pressing his forehead to his, grabbing his other hand to hold it tight.  
"You really had a roundabout way'a telling me," He said, making Damian snort. "Had to straight-up become a detective just to figure out what you wanted."  
"Oh shut up, I was being as obvious as I could be without embarrassing the hell out of myself,"  
That had Raph almost giggling, Damian smacking his arm and turning away from him with a half-hearted sneer; Raph pulled him back to kiss him again, which he didn't fight in the slightest, instead gripping his biceps and pushing into him, which made Raph exhale hard, his heart jumping in his chest.  
"Hey! What're you kids doing up there?" Someone shouted from far away, and they jumped apart, just as thunder boomed and popped Raph's ears.  
"Oh shit," He whispered, the two of them scrambling to get off the lighthouse before whoever it was that'd seen them called the cops; Damian shot his grapple at the building across the street, him and Raph using it as a zipline so they could get to the ground near the bike, Raph starting the engine as Damian retracted his grapple before hopping on behind him, putting his cape and helmet on. Revving, Raph did a 180, spewing dirt and rocks from his rear tire as he took off at the speed of light, skidding as he went.  
"That was close!" Damian shouted, holding him tightly.   
"Yeah, almost too close! Good thing you're a quick thinker," Raph responded.  
"Heh, thanks, you're not too slow yourself."  
"Pfft, okay, thanks, asshole."  
Damian laughed, the sound only worsening the fluttering of butterflies in his chest.

After a couple hours, they had to pull off the highway not only to gas up, but also because the storm had reached them, resulting in the roads being way too dangerous for them on a motorcycle, especially with two passengers; where they stopped had a sort of lobby area with a couple TVs and sofas, as well as a diner, but they decided against getting food to instead buy something small for themselves, as well as fill up both the bike and their canisters. The lobby was empty for now, as most of the truckers at this stop were still sleeping, and the cashier was dozing at the counter, obviously having had a long night; Damian was playing music from his phone as he ate his salad, Raph just about to take a bite of his sandwich when his shell cell went off, and when he took it out of its holster, he saw that he had a number of missed calls— whoops. Grimacing, he answered it, being immediately greeted by Leonardo shouting through the earpiece. _"Raphael, you better have a fucking _amazing_ excuse as to why the HELL you haven't been answering your phone, _and_ why you turned off the tracker! Do you know how much you've freaked all of us out? You've been MIA for almost an entire _day!"  
Raph snarled and rolled his eyes, anger immediately taking him over— God, why can't they just leave him alone? "It's been ten fucking hours, not a whole fuckin' day. I don't needta tell you where I'm goin' if I don't wanna, I'm not a goddamn child!"  
_"Don't even start with me, Raph, you know that's not what I'm talking about. Dad is worried about you, we _all_ are. What if something bad happened to you, and we wouldn't even know where to look because you never told us what you were doing and where you were going?"_   
Even though he knew Leo was right, he would never admit to it even if he had a gun to his head, so he just rolled his eyes and snapped, "Whatever. I'll take da beating when I get home, but fer now, I'm busy. I'll be a few hours, I'm waitin' out a storm right now."  
_"A storm? It's not raining in New York, where the hell are you?"_  
"Maine, and my sandwich is gettin' dry, so I'll see you when I get home. Later."  
_"Maine? Raph—"_  
Promptly hanging up, Raph slapped his phone onto the table with a heavy sigh, grumbling as he picked up a slice of his sandwich and took a bite. He caught Damian's gaze from the loveseat next to him and saw him looking rather humoured, having already eaten half his salad, the rest covered back up with the fork inside. "Are they mad at you for running off?" He asked, setting the container on the coffee table in front of them.   
"Of course," Raph sneered, angrily taking a bite of his sandwich, Damian simpering with a light laugh.  
"At least we're together," He said, and Raph smiled, the sweet words almost immediately dissolving all anger from his body, leaving him with only those butterflies; he didn't know what it meant, or why he only felt it around and with Damian, but he knew that he never wanted it to stop— he liked him too much.  
"Hey, so…" He began, setting his food down, Damian looking up from his fidget spinner, the little toy still going. "What are we, exactly?"  
Damian cocked his head, raising a brow— he hadn't put his mask back on, meaning that Raph still couldn't look at him directly. "What do you mean? Like, relationship-wise?"  
"Yeah. I ain't really all that experienced with this stuff, so…" Raph ate more of his sandwich, chewing and swallowing before finishing, "You'd be my first anything, really."  
"Well, considering the fact that we both admitted that we like each other and kissed multiple times, I'd assume that we're dating," Damian told him, rubbing his arm with the opposite hand. "Pretty sure it's called being boyfriends."  
Right, Raphael had heard that somewhere; dating was never something he saw himself doing, but he supposed that you weren't really given a choice in that— besides, hearing that only made that pounding of his heart more intense. Boyfriends… "I could get used to that," He said, and they smiled at each other.  
A flash of lightning, followed almost immediately by thunder made them jump, turning their heads to look through the windows to the outside, where the rain was beginning to come down even harder. "Looks like we're not going anywhere anytime soon," Damian said, Raph nodding before turning back to look at him, yawning some; they'd been out for a long time and he hadn't slept before this, so he was getting pretty tired. Damian must've noticed, 'cause he asked, "Are you sleepy?"  
Raph wiggled his hand in a "so-so" motion, but he yawned again, his eyelids drooping. "I'm fine."  
"Not what I asked," Damian motioned for him to come closer. "Come here."  
Raph did as he requested, sitting beside him, but when he did so, Damian scooted further away from him, patting his lap. "You should get some sleep while you can. I'll watch over you,"  
He wanted to protest, he really did, but just the idea of sleep had Raph fading fast, and before he knew it he was curled up on his side with his head resting on Damian's thighs, the younger boy's hand on his shoulder. "I'll wake you in a couple, or whenever the storm passes,"  
Raph mumbled in confirmation, and before he knew it he fell out, Damian's ungloved, slightly calloused hand stroking up and down his upper arm, hearing him say something that he probably wasn't meant to before he did. "I hope we can do this again sometime, Raph. I'm really glad I met you."  
For probably the first time in his life, Raph fell asleep with a smile on his face.

End


End file.
